Category: Society

Sh!t Happens!

Found while surfing…..reported by the Associated Press…..

A federal judge sentenced a Sioux Falls man to probation, a fine and restitution for sending a letter containing animal feces in the mail. Jeffrey Dezeeuw, 45, pleaded guilty to a count of mailing injurious articles.

Prosecutors said he smeared the excrement on a traffic citation, a note and cash that he sent to the Minnehaha County Clerk of Courts on July 21.

Dezeeuw was sentenced to three years of probation, a $500 fine and ordered to pay restitution of $451.

There is NO humor in the court system what so ever……joking…….

About Damn Time

The Iowa Supreme Court issued a unanimous ruling Friday finding that the state’s same-sex-marriage ban violates the constitutional rights of gay and lesbian couples, making Iowa the third state where marriage is legal.

In its decision, the court upheld a 2007 district court judge’s ruling that the law violates the state constitution. It strikes the language from Iowa code limiting marriage to only between a man a woman.

“The court reaffirmed that a statute inconsistent with the Iowa constitution must be declared void even though it may be supported by strong and deep-seated traditional beliefs and popular opinion,” said a summary of the ruling issued by the court.

Are you sure we are talking about Iowa?  A unanimous decision?  All the others like New Hampshire or California were split decisions, but Iowa?

This is a great civil rights victory for gays and will be interesting to see where it will lead.  Will other states follow suit?

Someone Thank A Smoker

Federal taxes also are going up Wednesday on other tobacco products, including cigars. Federal per-cigar taxes, which vary based on weight and price, used to be capped at 4.9 cents but now are capped at 40.26 cents.

The tobacco tax hikes, which President Obama signed into law in February, will be used to finance an expansion of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program, or SCHIP. The expansion, which will cost $35 million over five years, is expected to secure federally funded health care for an additional 4 million children.

Before the expansion, SCHIP covered almost 7 million children whose parents earn too much to qualify for Medicaid — the federal health insurance program for the poor — but can’t afford private insurance.

So if anyone is benefitting from the SCHIP program in the future then the smoker is helping your child get the medical care that they are needing.

Someone…somewhere…say thanks.

Here Is A Thought

When did identity theft become a big problem?  Could it have been around 2000 or 2001?  Why do you ask, Professor?

Back in the days of all the arguing about the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act of 1999 and then the Financial Services Modernization Act of 2000, which by the way, could be traced back as the beginning of the economic crisis, because of its deregul;ation of the finance industry, which in turn allowed all the credit trading and as we have been told was the “culprit” in the present economic situation.

But there was another argument in the opposition to these two pieces of legislation….it was the fact that the personal information of consumers was not adequately protected.  All the supporters of the Act assured the people that the Act was not going to effect consumers in anyway, but rather make it easier for the people to have access to loans to better their lives.

In a report written by the Electronic Privacy Information Center:

Consumers have no right under the GLBA to stop sharing of NPI among affiliates. An affiliate is any company that controls, is controlled by, or is under common control with another company. The individual consumer has absolutely no control over this kind of “corporate family” trading of personal information.

There are several exemptions under the GLBA that can permit information sharing over the consumer’s objection. For instance, if a financial institution wishes to engage the services of a separate company, they can transfer personal information to that company by arguing that the information is necessary to the services that the company will perform. A financial institution can transfer information to a marketing or sales company to sell new products (different stocks) or jointly offered products (co-sponsored credit cards). Once this unaffiliated third party has your personal information, they can share it with their own “corporate family.” However, they themselves cannot likewise transfer the information to further companies through this exemption.

Last year, identity theft cost the consumer billions upon billions, and it has been steadily on the rise since the enacting of the FSMA of 2000.

Sen. Dorgan of North Dakota said the the Act would put the US economy in peril in 10 years and so far …HE WAS RIGHT.  And consumer institutions were concerned that the people’s privacy was not protected in the ACT….so far…THEY WERE RIGHT!

So far the FSMA,  started in the Clinton Admin,  has been nothing but sorrow for the people of the US.  It helped make the economic crisis….it did not protect the consumer……and it definitely help turn the American consumer into an incurable credit addict…….it was a lose…lose…lose….piece of legislation that made millionaires into billionaires and the middle class into the homeless.

We can all be proud of Washington……(btw, that is sarcasm)

What To Do About This?

A 14-year-old New Jersey girl has been accused of child pornography after posting nearly 30 explicit nude pictures of herself on MySpace.com — charges that could force her to register as a sex offender if convicted.

The teen, whose name has not been released because of her age, was arrested and charged with possession of child pornography and distribution of child pornography. She was released to her mother’s custody.

If convicted of the distribution charge, she would be forced to register with the state as a sex offender under Megan’s Law, said state Attorney General Anne Milgram. She also could face up to 17 years in jail, though such a stiff sentence is unlikely.

Okay sports fans, while I have a problem with child porn and think it is disgusting I have a problem with this story.  The child could have to register as a sex offender for having pics of herself…….thinking……why is that porn?  Could it possibly be that the girl likes her body?  Something not many teens her age can say.

I am sorry, but I do not see this is a crime…now if she was charging aprice to view her pics then maybe, but I guess that since it was on Myspace it is considered public.  Was her space locked to all but friends?  There has to be more to this story than published….so far I do not see a crime that would justify a possiblity of 17 years in the slammer.

I Am Protected!

U.S. District Judge David S. Cercone ruled David Hackbart exercised his constitution right to free speech in 2006 when he angrily displayed his middle finger to another driver during a parking dispute in Squirrel Hill and when he displayed the same gesture to Officer Brian Elledge, who told Hackbart to stop.

“The United States Supreme Court has long recognized that non-verbal gestures and symbols may be entitled to First Amendment protection,” Cercone wrote in his 19-page opinion and order filed Monday. “Moreover, several courts, including federal and state courts in Pennsylvania, have found that the expressive use of the middle finger is protected speech under the First Amendment.”

Now there is a precedent for the use of the middle finger as free speech…….my only problem is that few display it properly.  Just raising you middle finger does convey the thought but it is not proper “English”.  As part of the generation that made the finger a symbol of the times, I cringe when I see people just throw the finger out there, instead of taking the time to learn to display it properly and more effectively.

Smokers Now, But Who Is Next?

Beginning April 1, the federal tax will increase 62 cents on a pack of cigarettes, bringing the total federal tax on a pack to $1.01.  Some tobacco companies already have increased their prices to help make up the difference.

I have read a piece that said the at least one million people have stop smoking ahead of the price increase.  Is that the desired outcome?  The higher price will force people to stop smoking or they will have to stop eating.

Has anyone stopped to consider something else?  Cigarette companies are a dying breed in the US….manufacturers.  The tax collect is to offset any future drain on the Medicaid/care system from the results of second hand smoke.  Cool, huh?

Are you ignorant?  Maybe just thick?  But that argument is just stupid!  Okay, let us say that millions of people stop smoking, thus stop buying the product….will not millions go to a US manufacturer that is in dire straits?  A bailout if you will.  So all the cash saved from those not smoking will be eaten up by another bailout of sorts.  Sounds like a sound, logical plan (that is sarcasm, in case you missed it).

So looking for another short term fix, these morons have created yet another failing industry that will most likely need bailing out.  What geniuses we elected!

With smoking eliminated what will be next?  Maybe everyone’s favorite liquor….or maybe those darn pesky fast food outlets.  Afterall, these institutions have and produce unhealthy side effects.

Once again the US government intervenes in the people’s private decisions….congrats morons!  You elected this group of idiots!

We Do Not Want Your Money

That is what several governors have told the Federal government, most of them in the South and Repubs, but why would a governor not want stimulus money to help his/her state?  Well, some say that it would put a strain on their budgets in the future.  Or maybe it is the red tape involved.  Or maybe it is because it is coming from a Democratic pres.

There has not been a definitive answer to why they do not need or want the cash…but with a little reading and research there could be an answer…..

The buzz grows surrounding the possibility of a second massive economic stimulus package, President Obama and Vice President Biden warned state officials yesterday to spend their shares of the approved $787 billion wisely – or else.

“If we see money being misspent, we’re going to put a stop to it,” Obama said at a daylong White House conference on the recovery package.

With that one statement it could explain the hesitancy of the governors to accept the cash.  It must be spent for the good of the state…not put in some “general fund” to be pissed away like so many other funds that some of the states receive.

Could it be that the governors are afraid of the word “transparency”?

I did find one thing that caught my attention.

Some state officials expressed confusion about what role they will play in passing on stimulus money to cities and towns and what reporting requirements they’ll face. They also complained that there has been a lack of communication about projects that have been announced.

This is a good possibliity, especially in my state of Mississippi, where we have the absolute worst system of record checking….another good way to piss money away …if no one can check where it goes…..

These governors are NOT acting in the best interests of their states and its people.  They are playing politics…in a tiome when politics should be the furtherest thing from their minds.

Where Is The Crime?

Tariq Aziz, for many years the public face of Saddam Hussein’s Iraqi regime, has been jailed for 15 years for his role in the execution of 42 merchants.

Aziz had denied any role in the summary trials of the men accused in 1992 of profiteering during economic sanctions.

I live in the path of Katrina, well actually at ground zero.  I watched as many people profitted from the disaster and the suffering of the people of my area.  Persoanlly, I think what Aziz did to those profiting from the sanctions anbd the misery of the Iraqi people was not a crime, just deserved punishment.

If this type of punishment was dealt out after disasters, it would go a long way at preventing others from trying to take advantage of others.  Extreme?  Of course….Deserved?…Damn right!

Before I get the round of the Saddam hating morons…I am talking about the act of profiteering, not the Saddam regime…..got that?

Gingrich Is A Moron!

And you thought you had heard all you were gonna hear from this guy….HA!

Former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich says Michigan should pay pregnant teenagers to take prenatal vitamins and stay healthy so the government avoids expensive costs when babies end up in neonatal intensive care units.

The Republican also told state senators Wednesday he supports paying poor children to read, and the state should consider paying girls to not get pregnant.

Gingrich is the founder of the Center for Health Transformation. He says politicians and the media spend too much time focusing on the finances of health care. Gingrich says more attention must be paid to cultural changes such as requiring students to exercise, putting grocery stores in the inner city and incentivizing people to not smoke.

Is he saying to pay teen girls to have sex but not get pregnant?  I believe there is a title for that activity.